1. Field of the Disclosure
The invention relates in general to container filling equipment, and more particularly, to a container retaining system for retaining a container within a filler. It will be understood that the container retaining system is configured to retain a container during operation of the fill valve to fill the container (if such support is necessary), while allowing the fill valve to remain closed in the event that no container is present, and facilitating opening of the fill valve as desired for cleaning when no container is present.
2. Background Art
The filling of containers with fluid on filling equipment is well known in the art. Generally, fillers comprise rotary or linear fillers which include a number of container retaining assemblies which cooperate and interface with a plurality of filler valves. In many cases filler valves are located on a rotating spindle with a bowl containing the fluid to be filled. The containers are introduced into container retaining assemblies. Subsequently, the filler valves are introduced to the container within the container retaining assemblies. The filler valves are opened and the containers are filled.
Due to various cost and environmental concerns, containers for holding fluid have been redesigned to minimize the use of materials, typically, a polymer such as PET or the like. For example, the walls of the container have become increasingly thinner, and, consequently, more flexible. In addition, to accommodate newer smaller caps, the neck and spout of these containers has become shorter.
As a result of these changes, often times the container lacks the strength necessary to open a mechanical fill valve. Therefore, it has become necessary to support the container to a greater extent, or to alter the fill valve construction. For example, electric valves have been utilized in place of mechanical valves to facilitate the filling of these less rigid containers. Problematically, electric valves add immense complexity to the filler equipment and greatly reduce the robustness of the filler. In addition, the electric valves are not well suited for the filler environment, especially during cleaning steps. In particular, the pressure of the cleaning fluids and the very nature of the cleaning fluids often is very destructive to the valves.
While it is desirable to utilize mechanical valves, it has been heretofore difficult to utilize mechanical valves with such containers. In particular, where additional support is provided to the container (i.e., supporting the container at the neck), the additional support can interfere with the operation of the fill valve. This is especially true in situations where the filler valve is directed into a dispensing position, but a container has inadvertently not been properly positioned within the container retaining assembly. Undesirably, the result is that the fill valve opens and fluid is spilled onto the equipment until the fill valve is again closed. In many of these types of fillers, it is desirable to have a cleaning operation wherein the mechanical valves are opened by the container retaining assemblies when containers are not present to allow the release of cleaning fluid to all of the areas within the valve.